A court has acquitted eight members of the BEKSAV Cinema Collective who faced charges under the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations for attempting to screen the film Pride on Jun 7, 2023, as part of Pride Month events.
The screening had been blocked by authorities, and the group’s members were detained on the same day.
BEKSAV announced the verdict, expressing gratitude to the Law Office of the Oppressed (EHB), the Social Policy, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation Studies Association (SPoD), and the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA).
In a statement following the ruling, BEKSAV said, “Our pride cannot be banned or put on trial! Our collectives will continue to support LGBTI+ struggles through their creative productions.”
Pride Month events such as demonstrations and film screenings are frequently banned in Turkey on vague grounds such as “disrupting public order and safety.”
Most recently, İstanbul's Kadıköy district governor banned screening of the film "Queer," which was scheduled to be the opening film of the MUBI Fest İstanbul. In response to the ban, MUBI canceled the festival altogether.
MUBI Fest İstanbul canceled after last-minute ban on opening film ‘Queer’
MUBI Fest censorship latest in a series of bans targeting LGBTI+s in İstabul's Kadıköy
(TY/VK)
